Media Moguls Make Their Move Online

Former media titans such as Eisner and Bochco are finding lots to like as they produce new shows aimed at social networking's explosive growth

by Ronald Grover

The acting is wooden, the monologue darn near nonexistent. But there's something mildly addicting about Prom Queen, the ballyhooed new online series of two-minute episodes that former Walt Disney (DIS) Chairman Michael Eisner has brought to the Web. It features hot chicks, rock-hard guys, and a hint of sex (one kid streaks through a soccer practice, a girl seductively kisses a guy). And it has a secret: Someone is out to kill the prom queen, who hasn't been crowned yet.

Better yet, Prom Queen has what every wannabe Internet mogul wants—a sponsor. Each episode follows a brief plug for the movie Hairspray, which will be released on July 20 by Warner Bros.' (TWX) New Line Cinema unit.

Is this the future of online video? Who knows? But just about every media mogul worth his reservation at Mr. Chow seems to be trying to find a way into the world of social networks, blogs, and online video shorts. Eisner, who left Disney in 2006 and has been building an online media business that includes a stake in YouTube (GOOG) clone Veoh, has started his own digital video studio. On Mar. 29, Eisner announced a deal to distribute Prom Queen through social-networking behemoth MySpace, owned by News Corp. (NWS). Steven Bochco, a mega-TV producer with such hits as L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues to his credit, has jumped in and will create a string of videos for user-generated site Metacafe.com. "TV people know that the future is changing," says Herb Scannell, former president of Viacom's (VIA) Nickelodeon Networks who is co-founder of the Next New Networks, a month-old startup that intends to program and create 101 specialized social networks over the next five years.

Edgy on a Micro-Budget

Why all the fuss? Blame it on YouTube, which has proved it can bring together an audience of more than 30 million sets of eyeballs each month to watch cats burp and soda bottles explode. That's helped free up venture money in a hurry. Scannell and co-founder Fred Seibert, a onetime MTV creative director, had little trouble raising $8 million in seed money from such media heavyweights as former AOL Time Warner Chief Operating Officer Robert Pittman, private equity firm Spark Capital, and Haim Saban, the billionaire entrepreneur who popularized the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Next New Networks is already stocking content on five channels, with a sixth to launch shortly, including Pulp Secret for comic book fanatics, Threadbanger for do-it-yourself fashion, and VOD Cars for car-crazed folks.

The content, for the most part, is edgy and—like Prom Queen—not ready for prime time. But that's the way the wandering media moguls seem to like it. "Just as broadcast TV was for large audiences and cable TV for niche audiences, the Internet is offering entertainment for small communities," says Scannell. The cost of making shorts is absurdly small by Hollywood standards—$10,000 or less for a few minutes, compared with the going rate of around $2 million for an hour-long prime-time show.

Not Just Online

Scannell has already lured an advertiser, synthetic oil producer Royal Purple, for VOD Cars. Scannell says the show has already collected thousands of pieces of user-generated content. Still, he says he gets pitches from more traditional TV folks as well. "But we tell them that this is what we intend to pay and if they're interested, fine.

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